Historical Events on 9 Aug

Historical Events on 9 Aug

1048 - Pope Damasus II dies in Rome, after reigning for only 23 days.
1173 - Construction of the Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete.
1329 - Quilon the first Indian Diocese was erected by Pope John XXII and Jordanus was appointed the first Bishop
1483 - Opening of the Sistine Chapel
1666 - Rear Admiral Robert Holmes leads a raid on the Dutch island of Terschelling, destroying 150 merchant ships in the Vlie estuary, and pillaging the town of West-Terschelling, an act later known as "Holmes's Bonfire".
1810 - Napoleon annexes Westphalia as part of the First French Empire.
1842 - Webster-Ashburton Treaty is signed, establishing the United States-Canada border east of the Rocky Mountains.
1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Cedar Mountain - At Cedar Mountain, Virginia, Confederate General Stonewall Jackson narrowly defeats Union forces under General John Pope.
1877 - Indian Wars: Battle of Big Hole - A small band of Nez Percé Indians clash with the United States Army.
1892 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for a two-way telegraph.
1902 - Edward VII is crowned king of the United Kingdom.
1907 - The first Boy Scout encampment concludes at Brownsea Island in Southern England.
1936 - Summer Olympic Games: Games of the XI Olympiad: Jesse Owens wins his fourth gold medal at the games becoming the first American to win four medals in one Olympiad.
1942 - Indian leader, Mahatma Gandhi is arrested in Bombay by British forces, launching the Quit India Movement.
1942 - World War II: Battle of Savo Island - Allied naval forces protecting their amphibious forces during the initial stages of the Battle of Guadalcanal are surprised and defeated by an Imperial Japanese Navy cruiser force.
1944 - The United States Forest Service and the Wartime Advertising Council release posters featuring Smokey Bear for the first time.
1945 - World War II: Nagasaki is devastated when an atomic bomb, "Fat Man", is dropped by the United States B-29 Bockscar. 70,000 people are killed instantly.
1965 - A fire at a Titan missile base near Searcy, Arkansas kills 53 construction workers.
1965 - Singapore seceded from Malaysia and gained independence.
1969 - Members of a cult led by Charles Manson brutally murder pregnant actress Sharon Tate (wife of Roman Polanski), coffee heiress Abigail Folger, Polish actor Wojciech Frykowski, men's hairstylist Jay Sebring, and recent high-school graduate Steven Parent at
1974 - As a direct result of the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon becomes the first President of the United States to resign from office. His Vice President, Gerald Ford, becomes president.
1977 - The military-controlled Government of Uruguay announces that it will return the nation to civilian rule through general elections in 1981 for a President and Congress.
1993 - The Liberal Democratic Party of Japan loses a 38-year hold on national leadership.
1999 - The Diet of Japan enacts a law establishing the Hinomaru and Kimi Ga Yo as the official national flag and national anthem.
1999 - Russian President Boris Yeltsin fires his Prime Minister, Sergei Stepashin, and for the fourth time fires his entire cabinet.
2001 - US President George W. Bush announces his support for federal funding of limited research on embryonic stem cells.
378 - Gothic War: Battle of Adrianople - A large Roman army led by Emperor Valens is defeated by the Visigoths in present-day Turkey. Valens is killed along with over half of his army.
48 BC - Caesar's civil war: Battle of Pharsalus - Julius Caesar decisively defeats Pompey at Pharsalus and Pompey flees to Egypt.
681 - Bulgaria is founded as a Khanate on the south bank of the Danube, after defeating the Byzantine armies of Emperor Constantine IV south of the Danube delta.